Posture & What it Says About You…
You walk into a room and people’s first impression of you is how you carry yourself into that room. They can notice your appearance, your clothes, your hair, your shoes, even your nail polish. Oftentimes, and I would venture to say, always, they notice how you physically carry yourself into that room. This is where confidence, grace, and ease in your walk play an integral part of your first impression. Confidence, grace and ease in your entrance is achieved first, by having good posture.
Think about it… when you walk tall, your joints are all stacked. Your abdominals are firing and your spine is lengthened. There is a beauty to this. There’s a length to your presence which establishes great confidence. When you walk tall and with good posture, your movement becomes graceful, even elegant. You are also more able to access all the proper muscles to walk in a proper gait, thereby, walking with more ease and efficiency.
What does good posture reveal about the person? To me, it reveals confidence, pride and hard work. It reveals mindfulness and awareness of yourself and others. It establishes your presence as powerful because you have put in the body and mind work to move through your life in a way that requires effort. It negates laziness as part of your constitution. It is beautiful.
Good posture also reveals that you are working your back and abdominal muscles effectively. Your training is solid whether it’s organized training or self training through movement patterns. Your rhomboid and mid traps are properly engaged, your head is placed in a proper place over your shoulders and all of this can prevent neck and lower back issues in the future.
Let’s look at the alternate scenario. You walk into a room hunched over…your shoulders are rounded, your head hangs forward and you drag your feet…. what do you think it reveals (this scenario is not applicable to those who have preexisting postural issues because of injury, disease, etc)? To me it reveals lack of confidence, an apologetic presence, and a poor gait, so you are at a biomechanical disadvantage and vulnerable to injury. It reveals a neglect of proper training of the back muscles and neck muscles which contribute to good posture. But mostly to me it reveals someone who doesn’t take the time to think about what they present to the world as a human and as a statement of their self value. That’s what I was taught when I was a child and I’ve carried that thought with me my entire life. I have tried my entire life to carry myself in good posture. I feel like it has helped me establish myself as a confident, strong, and proud woman and that’s important to me. Of course, there are other ways to establish your presence in the world, and posture may not be on the top of your list. I am only referring to posture as a statement tool because it has worked for me in my professional and personal life. I value posture for many different reasons and hope that you can utilize my account to help you in your life!